Prelude
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: They're seniors now, nearing graduation, and while most everything has changed, some things have remained constant, mostly positive things. He glances over at Jade. Yes, he thinks, definitely positive. / Beck and Jade attend a New Year's Eve party and reflect on what was, is, and is to come, as well as celebrating their reunion. / Beck/Jade.


Prelude

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He spots her from across the party, her eyes shining as she takes a sip of the punch. Hastily, he makes his way over to her, hoping that the punch isn't spiked; a drunk Jade is not an easy Jade to deal with. Thankfully, she seems in her right mind as she smiles at him. "Just where have you been?"

"In the bathroom," he says with a sigh. "Robbie's been vomiting; trust me, you don't want to see it. You're lucky you're not a guy."

"And would I help him even if I was?" Jade questions with a raise of her perfect eyebrow. He gives a shake of his head and laughs, his eyes floating downward and tracing her figure. She looks gorgeous tonight more than any night; her navy blue dress hugs her curves and gives her an air of mystery; her eyes are painted with glittery eyeshadow that makes her eyes pop. "We've got another hour, right?" she asks, biting down on the corner of her lip.

"Right," he confirms with a nod of his head. Only an hour left in this year - only an hour more of the year that has been filled with regret and joy, breakups and makeups, and realizations. Only an hour until he starts a new year, and this year, he will do better. "Can't believe the year's ending."

"Well, nothing's gonna change, really," Jade replies casually. "Let me guess, Robbie's searching for Cat (now that he's cleaned up, of course), Cat's stuffing her face with cupcakes, Andre's dancing with some skinny blonde, Trina's dancing like an idiot, and Tori's scouring the floor for a hot guy to be her New Year's kiss. Thank goodness I'm not in need of _that; _I've got my New Year's kiss right here."

"Yep, yep, nope she's a brunette actually, yep, of course, and why wait?" With a grin on his face, he presses a gentle kiss to her lips and revels in the feeling; it seems ludicrous now that he could ever give that up for any period of time. It has been nearly a year now, a year since the event he regrets most, and yet doesn't regret at all; they have both learned so much, matured so much, and in a way it feels like he loves her more, better, now.

She pulls away, a smile tugging at her lips. "We've got the whole year to do that, Oliver. While we're here, we should dance and show Vega - both of them - how it's done." Her hand finds his, enclosing around his fingers, and she drags him out to the dance floor. Of course, they decide to play a slow song just then, and her head is pressed against his chest. He presses a gentle kiss to the top of her head and pulls her closer, wishing he could never let go, that he could hold her like this, just like this, for the whole entire year, nothing in their way, nothing but them.

"It's been a crazy year," he mutters into her hair, stroking her back.

"Let's not talk about it," is her response, and immediately he knows why. So much has happened, so much has gone down, so much has changed; he can hardly dwell on it now, when everything has really just begun. He plants a gentle kiss to her lips, a kiss of understanding, and then pulls back to hold her in his arms.

The song changes then, a more upbeat song, and both of them begin to move a bit faster. They dance and spin and twirl and practically everyone watches them, the so called worst couple. Once the song finishes, they both erupt in laughter as the people around them applaud practically, still holding onto each other like the world's ending.

He grins at her. "Think we showed up Tori and Trina?"

"I always do," she says, entwining her hand with hers. "Say, where do you imagine Robbie got the spiked punch?"

"There will be none of that," he warns. "Dealing with you is a nightmare when you're drunk, and I think I prefer this slightly happy Jade to overly happy practically Cat Jade. Come on, they're singing karaoke over there." He leads her over to where Tori is belting out _Make It Shine, _just as she had on the stage that day... was it two years ago? He can hardly remember; it's been practically ages, really. It fills him with nostalgia. They're seniors now, nearing graduation, and while most everything has changed, some things have remained constant, mostly positive things. He glances over at Jade. _Yes,_ he thinks, _definitely positive_

As Jade gets up to sing, he remembers the first time he asked her out, after he'd heard her sing in the Showcase. She had kicked him in the shin and told him plainly he wasn't going to get what he was looking for with her, maybe he should try one of the girls that had been drooling over him instead. He'd shook his head and told her he liked a challenge (how, he wondered, had he forgotten that). Unlike other guys, though, he hadn't given up; he had continually tried to get on her good side (that was, if she even had one), but not pressing the issue until he thought she seemed ready. This time, inevitably, she'd accepted, and it had all stemmed from there.

Her voice is still as gorgeous as it was all those years ago; in fact, if anything, it has improved. She looks like an angel when she sings, really, her dark hair spilling into her wide eyes. He watches her and can't help but smile when he thinks of how this girl, this practically unreal girl, is _his_, and only his.

Once she finishes, she kisses him again and asks, "What did you think?"

"It was amazing," and then, "and you look beautiful."

She looks confused, probably because he doesn't say things like that enough, but not entirely averse to the compliment. "Thanks. Aren't you going to sing?"

"I can't sing," he protests, giving her that look - _don't-even-try-to-convince-me-it's-not-happening._

"You can sing just fine," she tells him, practically the epitome of compliments coming from her, "and it's not like you don't do it all the time in the RV, like when you sing those annoying Disney songs when you want me to shut up. Come on, Beck; show them again how lucky I am."

He rolls his eyes. "Isn't it nearly midnight?'

She glances at her phone. "Fifteen minutes still, idiot; that's plenty of time for you to sing me a song."

And so that's how he ends up with the microphone, singing some Maroon 5 song that he barely knows the words too and thinking that either the punch was spiked or he's drunk off of the enigma that is Jade West, because there's absolutely no way that he's doing this right now, and he hopes that Tori's not recording this for her senior video or right now because he'll never live it down (especially when he adds at the end that he sang it for a 'very special girl who means more to him than anyone in the world, honestly). Jade laughs once he's done and whispers "Sap" in his ear but the smile on her face makes it all worth it.

He's really not much for parties anyway; Jade used to get angry because girls would throw themselves at him during every opportunity, and it just really wasn't worth it because it was just a bunch of flashing lights and blaring music and blurry bodies. This party, he thinks though, is all right. There are girls staring at him, but they don't approach, and he has to wonder why.

"Hey Jade, not to sound conceited..." ("Whatever it is is going to be really conceited.") "...but why aren't girls coming up to me today?"

"Dunno," Jade responds. "Promise I didn't threaten to stab them or anything, though that would be pretty nice. I guess they just finally got it through their thick heads that you're taken. I like it better this way."

"Yeah," he agrees. "Me too." And he means it, because those girls are easy and as he's realized, easy's boring.

"Nearly midnight," she exclaims then. "The death of 2012 - I've been waiting for this moment for ages." He tries not to read too much into this and instead lets her pull him off to the balcony of the house. There are a few other couples there, though they are sparse, and he and Jade go over into the corner so they can have some semblance of privacy.

"If you're going to make your resolution, it should be now," he informs her proudly, glad he actually knows something for once.

"If you're thinking mine's going to be 'this year I'll be nicer to Vega', you're delusional," is her sharp response.

The countdown starts then, from sixty, and they look at each other silently for a moment. His last moments of 2012, spent with her - and honestly he can't think of a better way to spend them.

They recite the last few numbers in unison - '10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...' - and once they get to the 2 Jade leans forward and kisses him, melding his lips with her own. He tugs her close, reveling in the feeling of this New Year's kiss, of having her to share it with. Fireworks are exploding somewhere off in the distance, but he hardly notices - he's got plenty of his own._  
_

Once they pull away for breath, he whispers, "You kissed me before we reached one."

"Yes," she tells him breathlessly, "because kissing you at one would be normal, and normal's boring anyway, so why would I want to do that? Are you saying you don't like the fact that I'm unique?"

"No, I don't." He laughs. "I love the fact that you're unique. In fact, I love _you_. Happy New Year, Jade."

"Happy New Year," she echoes, kissing him again. He knows it's her own special brand of I love you and so he doesn't question it. (She loves him, he knows; she has proven it more often than not this year. Sometimes he thinks she loves him more than he deserves.)

She pulls away again, smiling gently at him, and he asks, "Don't you want to know what my New Year's Resolution is?"

"It's going to be something stupid and pointless like to get more fit," she says with a roll of her eyes, "like last year, and then you're going to give up after like, two days, and rip up your resolution and throw it in the trash. You do the same dumb thing every stupid year, Oliver; nothing has changed. So in other words, no, I don't really want to know."

"Actually, no." He smirks, glad that for once he has outsmarted the infamous Jade West. "I mean, yeah, I did that last year, and the year before, and probably the year before that too... but this is this year, and I want things to change. So MY New Year's resolution, Jade West, is to treat you better."

"That's so cheesy." She laughs, which is sort of offensive, but then she kisses him, so he knows she approves.

And really, that's all he'd wanted anyway.

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**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here's some very fluffy reunion Bade to kick off your New Year right. Hope you enjoy and don't be too hard on me; I wrote this between one and two AM okay. Here's to a great 2013, eh? Read and review, please!**


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